Gerald Hodges Makes His Case For More Playing Time

Gerald Hodges hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunity to play this year, but the former Penn State linebacker has made the most of the chances he has received.

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Hodges got another shot yesterday with Anthony Barr injured and immediately made an impression, picking off Geno Smith’s first pass of the game and running it back for a touchdown.

That wasn’t the first time Hodges has demonstrated great athleticism and instinct on the field. The second-year player has flashed terrific coverage skills in his limited number of snaps over the course of the season and been strong in run support.

Overall, Hodges has shown terrific range on the field, great agility as a coverage linebacker and, on Sunday, he showed that he can finish it off when he gets his hands on the ball.

So, when will Gerald Hodges finally prove to Mike Zimmer that he deserves to start at the Will over aging veteran Chad Greenway?

Eventually the Vikings will have to move on from Greenway, a stalwart player whose physical limitations become more pronounced with each passing week. Though Greenway can still make the occasional good play, his coverage has been spotty and his run support has not been consistent.

As Greenway has faded, Hodges has come on strong. Though the sample size is small with Hodges, the impact has been obvious.

Sunday Hodges had his best all-around game as a pro, adding a second pass break-up to his pick six, and racking up 8 total tackles including 1 tackle for loss.

Hodges also showed up big in the New Orleans game, with two tackles for loss among his six total tackles. Against Detroit he had two passes defensed including a memorable leaping bat down.

Thanks to injury, Hodges has been able to appear in only 8 of 11 games this year. And even when he’s played he has largely found himself rotating in behind Greenway.

In the four games he’s started, three at the Will in place of an injured Greenway plus yesterday at the Sam, Hodges has 23 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT for a TD and 4 passes defensed.

When Anthony Barr returns to the Sam spot, it’s likely that Hodges will go back to the bench while Greenway continues in his role as the starting Will. But Mike Zimmer should take a long look at Hodges’ contributions over the course of the year and consider sitting the plodding, sometimes overmatched Greenway in favor of the younger man.

It’s clear that the Vikings’ best OLB combo at this point is Barr and Hodges, if you value athleticism and playmaking over experience.

It’s nice having an experienced leader on the field but the time has come to acknowledge Hodges’ skills and give him his shot, even if it comes at the expense of the highly-respected Greenway.

The Vikings have several talented young impact players on defense, and Hodges needs to be counted among them and given his chance to shine.

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